It is not uncommon for a home owner whose home has a garage to provide apparatus for screening the door opening when the garage door is open, thereby providing an area for recreational or social activities which preferably are engaged in outside the living quarters of the home. However, when the garage area is to be used for such activities it is preferable that the garage door occupy its open position, thereby enabling fresh air to enter the garage and providing a view to the occupants other than that of the inside of the garage door. One of the problems associated with utilizing the garage area with the garage door open is restraining the access to the garage area of annoying insects, other pests, and air borne debris.
The prior art contains many examples of apparatus for screening an open garage doorway. However, not all of them have been well received for a number of reasons. One of such reasons is that the screening apparatus and the garage door interfere with one another unless precautions are taken to avoid the interference. In many instances the precautions require the installation of apparatus which requires adjustment or reconfiguration of the means for enabling movement of the garage door, sometimes necessitating the provision of complex arrangements for effecting operation of both the door and the screening apparatus.
Some of the constructions proposed heretofore employ framed panels provided with screening material and which are movable as a unit between positions in which the doorway is closed or open. In many instances the screening apparatus is stored at a level above that of the garage door when the latter is in its open position. Locating the screening apparatus in such position exposes it to the collection of dust and air borne debris, thereby necessitating cleaning of the apparatus when it is used to screen the doorway. In addition, the storage of the screening apparatus at a level above that of the open garage door may make it impossible to utilize upper portions of a garage for storage of other equipment or materials.
A principal object of the invention is to provide screening apparatus for a garage doorway which overcomes the objections referred to above.